Numerous types of containers have been specially adapted in the past for use in containing toys. Because of the abuse to which toy boxes are sometimes subjected by children, previous designs have employed heavy, shock resistant structural materials, such as wood, steel and the like.
The use of sharp corners in prior art toy boxes was virtually unavoidable because of the rigid nature of materials used to construct them. Sharp corners pose a definite health hazard to small children, and particularly toddlers who are learning to walk and are apt to fall against or on the box. The mere fact that these boxes employed rigid structural materials presented a potential source of injury if a child fell and struck his head against the sidewalls of the box.
The prior art boxes possessed other disadvantages as well; they were relatively heavy and bulky and typically employed mechanical type hinges to swingably connect a lid on the box. In the case of wooden toy boxes, splinters were a constant source of concern and the mechanical hinges often resulted in pinched fingers.
Still another shortcoming of prior art toy boxes is the fact that their construction materials were often toxic or unsanitary, thus posing another form of health hazard to children and infants.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a child-safe toy box, each part of which is readily deformable and yieldable to the weight of a child falling thereon.
Another object of the invention is to provide a toy box the type mentioned above which is extremely light weight and avoids sharp edges or corners which may injure children and infants.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a toy box which avoids the use of toxic construction materials and which may be readily sanitized with minimum effort.
Another object of the invention is to provide a toy box generally similar to that described above which includes a lid swingably connected to the box by a hinge which precludes pinched fingers or bruises.
These, and further objects of the invention will be made clear or will become apparent during the course of a detailed description of the invention set out hereinbelow.